Start Crabtree? Really?

With all the hurly-burly about the 49ers, newest and shiniest offensive weapon in rookie receiver Michael Crabtree, the team has forgotten all about Brandon Jones, their $16.5 million free-agent receiver.

Jones, who looked terrific before fracturing his shoulder in training camp, is now being relegated to special teams play with Crabtree possibly elbowing his way to the starting job.

“I thought I was a receiver, but I guess I’m a special teams helper,” Jones said. “I just do what I can and just help out the team the best way I can.”

Jones was out with the shoulder for the first three games and then got one pass thrown to him in the Atlanta blowout.

What’s the over-under on catches for Michael Crabtree this weekend?

Jones might actually figure to be the better option than Crabtree at this point. Shaun Hill knows his body language, he’s proved to be a fine option during training camp and he’s a veteran. The 49ers might be pushing Crabtree way too early.

Even though the team seems excited about Crabtree as a playmaker, he’s coming from a radically different offense and has only been on campus for a few weeks. Shaun Hill has struggled to get the ball to the wideouts he has thrown to for a year plus, now the team expects him to strike up an instant chemistry with Crabtree?

“I think the most important thing for us is to get him out there as soon as we can and as much as we can to see what he can and cannot do,” Singletary said.

But if Crabtree doesn’t do well, how can the 49ers get an accurate assessment? Is it because he’s not good enough physically or is it because he doesn’t know the scheme?

Hill seems to be a quarterback who relies on familiarity. As a backup last summer, he threw often to fellow backups Jason Hill and Dominique Zeigler, and he hooked up with them effectively last year when he became the starter.

What the 49ers need is better pass protection and quicker decisions by their quarterback and receivers, not a player who doesn’t know the nuances to take away snaps from others.

Just take a look at Brett Favre and Bernard Berrian in Minnesota, it took them weeks to finally find a chemistry because they both missed training camp and Favre and Berrian are veterans.

Watching a little of the Saints-Giants game on NFL network, the repertoire between Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Marcus Colston is tremendous, probably because they’ve had over two-and-a-half years to know one another.

The 49ers, the last few seasons, have been about quick fixs: Starting Alex Smith as a rookie, hiring Mike Martz as an offensive coordinator, firing Mike Nolan at mid-season. While possibly starting Crabtree doesn’t rank up there with those decisions, it’s just another urgent act.

Singletary intimated that he’s putting the team first by playing and possibly starting Crabtree, and he said he wants to see what kind of talent he has, but he also could be setting his offense back.

Now, maybe Crabtree is such a transcendent talent that he can star right away. But the odds are firmly against that. The 49ers might be better off going with Jones or even Jason Hill, who caught 30 of the 40 passes thrown to him last year.

NOTES: No word on when safety Michael Lewis will get back on the field. Lewis sustained his third concussion since Aug. 18 against Atlanta. … Running back Keon Lattimore, the younger brother of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, was signed to the practice squad. … Josh Morgan should get some sort of selfless award. He’s helping Crabtree learn the offense. “I know if I made a bad mistake as a rookie, it would have been devastating,” Morgan said. He said he’ll even correct Crabtree when he’s in the huddle with him. This, despite the fact Crabtree could seriously eat into Morgan’s playing time. Morgan hasn’t been impressive so far, but a tender hamstring might be part of the reason. … I’d heard the players were all over Crabtree in the locker room after he signed; they also got him to sing “Happy Birthday” to Singletary last week (he turned 51). Asked about his singing voice, Singletary said, “Awful.”